John Henning Schumannhttp://kazu.org
enhttp://kazu.org/feeds/26423/rss.xmlPruning Back Prescriptions For Better Healthhttp://kazu.org/post/pruning-back-prescriptions-better-health
If you follow health news, by now you may have heard about a federally funded study that was <a href="http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/press-releases/2015/landmark-nih-study-shows-intensive-blood-pressure-management-may-save-lives" target="_blank">stopped early</a> because of impressive evidence that aggressively lowering blood pressure saves lives.<p>For more than half a century we've known that controlling blood pressure (<a href="http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/AboutHighBloodPressure/Understanding-Blood-Pressure-Readings_UCM_301764_Article.jsp">getting the numbers</aSun, 27 Sep 2015 15:40:00 +0000John Henning Schumann62784 at http://kazu.orgPruning Back Prescriptions For Better HealthNo Shame, No Euphemism: Suicide Isn't A Natural Cause Of Deathhttp://kazu.org/post/no-shame-no-euphemism-suicide-isnt-natural-cause-death
Beware the mention of natural causes, as in my mother's obituary:<p><blockquote><p>"Norita Wyse Berman, a writer, stockbroker and artist ... died at home Friday of natural causes. She was 60."<p></blockquote><p>Sixty-year-olds don't die of natural causes anymore. The truth was too hard to admit.<p>Fifteen years on, I'm ashamed of my family's shame. Those attending her funeral and paying shiva calls knew the truth anyway. People talk.<p>One of the many ironies of dying young is that my mother was a true believer in modern medicine.Sat, 01 Aug 2015 11:03:00 +0000John Henning Schumann60143 at http://kazu.orgNo Shame, No Euphemism: Suicide Isn't A Natural Cause Of DeathWhat Could Go Wrong When Doctors Treat Their Own Kids?http://kazu.org/post/what-could-go-wrong-when-doctors-treat-their-own-kids
Famed doctor and medical educator William Osler once said, "A physician who treats himself has a fool for a patient."<p>What, I wonder, does that say about us doctors who treat our own kids?<p>This past winter, my daughter got the flu. She was miserable: daily fevers, achiness, sore throat, stuffy head and nausea with a total loss of appetite.<p>We didn't run a flu test on her, which you can do with a quick nasal swab at a doctor's office. Since my wife and I are both docs, we were comfortable that her symptoms fit the diagnosis.<p>Our feeling was that the illness would run its course.Sun, 12 Apr 2015 12:03:00 +0000John Henning Schumann55650 at http://kazu.orgWhat Could Go Wrong When Doctors Treat Their Own Kids?When A Patient Says 'Everything's Fine,' A Doctor Should Be Wary http://kazu.org/post/when-patient-says-everythings-fine-doctor-should-be-wary
Oscar buzz surrounds Julianne Moore for her role as Alice Howland in the film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrXrZ5iiR0o"><em>Still Alice</em></a><em>.</em> Howland is a linguistics professor who develops early-onset Alzheimer's, a cruel irony for a character who makes her living with her brain.<p>Howland's awareness of her fate makes her decline all the more painful to watch.<p>Often, though, patients <em>and</em> their doctors can be slow to recognize <a href="http://www.alz.org/what-is-dementia.asp">dementia</a>, which most often progresses gradually.<p>Patients can be all over thSun, 15 Feb 2015 10:45:00 +0000John Henning Schumann53365 at http://kazu.orgWhen A Patient Says 'Everything's Fine,' A Doctor Should Be Wary Wonder Abides, Even For A Skeptical Doctor http://kazu.org/post/wonder-abides-even-skeptical-doctor
The holidays are here, bringing joy and, for some, wistful feelings.<p>Doctors are no different. Even for a profession that prides itself on scientific proof, the long nights of December afford ample opportunity for reflection and even doubt.<p>As we take stock of what we've accomplished and where we've failed to measure up, I find my scowling mask of medical skepticism falling away. I have to admit that there is so much wonder and mystery that science and medicine still can't explain.<p>Take Evelyn.Sun, 28 Dec 2014 10:36:00 +0000John Henning Schumann51343 at http://kazu.orgWonder Abides, Even For A Skeptical Doctor